Plausible Deniability
by AlexMurray11235
Summary: Companion piece to Sirius Black and the Raising of Children. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody seems like a hard man. But he trained Potter, Black, and Longbottom. So how does he deal with the aftermath of October 31st, when one of the three men he considers a son betrays the other two, killing one and possible the other? Well, he puts his Auror skills to work, discovering the truth.


Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters. JK Rowling does. Also, this is a companion piece to my story **Sirius Black and the Raising of Children**. If you haven't read that, this might not make a ton of sense.

 **1 Nov 2001**

Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was in a terrible mood as he made his way through the ministry to the Auror headquarters. And his mood was only getting worse as he passed by person after person celebrating and generally being in high spirits. For everyone was celebrating the fall of You-Know-Who, Lord Voldemort, generally evil wizard. And one might expect, quite logically, that the downfall of Voldemort would put Moody in a good mood, for he was famous throughout magical Britain for being the toughest Auror alive. He was the man that returned to field duty only twelve hours after losing an eye because 'if the dark wizards aren't going to give me a break, why should I give them one.' But, unlike most of magical Britain, Moody personally knew the people who gave their lives, ultimately destroying Voldemort.

The night before, Moody had responded to a call reporting a large magical explosion in Godric's Hollow. When he had arrived, he had been surprised to find himself standing before the remains of the Potter residence. When he entered, team in tow, he had discovered the lifeless bodies of James Potter, a man he considered almost a son, and Lily Potter, James' wife. Worse, there was no sign of their young son, Harry.

The absence of Harry hit Moody the hardest. While James had left the Auror force shortly after completing training to go into hiding, Moody had always known there was a chance he would die. That was part of being an Auror. But Harry. He remembered when Harry was first born. James had show the photographs to everyone in the department, highlighting every detail of the newborn's short life. And, while Moody would hardly admit it, he had felt something for the boy. After all, he had no children of his own and considered his trainees his children instead.

As the team had begun cataloguing the damage, Albus Dumbledore had arrived. He had explained his knowledge of the night's events, informing the Aurors that Voldemort had perished. While most of the team had begun celebrating, Dumbledore proceeded to rip Moody's heart out. For he did indeed have one. Dumbledore informed him that the Potters had been hiding under the Fidelius charm, with Sirius as their secret keeper. Therefore, Sirius must have betrayed the Potters, leading Voldemort to the house. When things had gone wrong, Dumbledore proposed that Black must have taken Harry, possibly to kill him later.

Moody was astonished, to say the least. Black had been another one of his trainees, alongside Potter. The two had been the best of friends, practically brothers. Black had even lived with the Potters after he ran away from home at age sixteen. To think one of the men he considered a son had died at the hands of the other… He almost didn't believe it. But Dumbledore explained that he cast the Fidelius himself. Black must have betrayed the Potters to Voldemort.

So, after the team had finished cataloguing the damage and removed James and Lily's bodies to bring to the morgue, Moody had gone home and consumed almost an entire bottle of Firewhiskey. Twelve hours and a strong hangover potion later, he was back at the office. Miserable and angry at the world. They had lost so many fighting Voldemort. Why, in his last moments, did he have to take Moody's 'family'? Unfortunately, his day only got worse.

"We've got an alert!" Crammer shouted across the bullpen. "Residential, wards have fallen, and an unforgivable has been detected!"

"Where?" Moody asked anxiously.

Crammer gulped, "Longbottom Manor, sir."

"Dammit. Crammer, Johnson, Erikson, Kohl, and Wood, you're with me! Let's move it people!" he shouted, already racing to the special apparition point in the office. Frank Longbottom was his third trainee. He couldn't bare to lose another. Not today. Not right now.

Less than two minutes later, the group was in the apparition point, wands drawn. With a loud pop, all six disappeared, only to reappear back in the office.

"Anti-apparition and potkey wards detected," Johnson announced. "We can apparated to the edge of the property and walk in, the main Manor wards are down."

"Right, let's go," Moody commanded. But, inside, he knew things were turning sour fast. While Frank and his wife were both competent fighters, they had a young son at home. With an unknown number of assailants and a long journey from the edge of the wards to the house, there might not be anyone to rescue by the time they arrived.

Twenty-five minutes later, Moody and the rest of the team stood near the house. They had gotten close, but there was an additional set of wards preventing them from entering the Manor itself. Moody paced nervously, wand drawn as Johnson and Kohl, the ward experts of the group, tried to dismantle or bypass them. A loud explosion reverberated throughout the house and Moody felt the wards fall.

"In we go," he commanded. "But careful, we have no idea what awaits us inside." The group nodded, advancing forward.

Entering the house, Moody couldn't help but curse under his breath. The entryway was trashed, as was the living room. Scattered around the room were piles of dust and debris, as well as the remains of the rooms furniture. Two bodies, dressed in full Death Eater robes and masks lay at the edges of the room. A third lay in a large pool of blood near the center. But what caught Moody's eye was a large pool of blood and debris at the middle of the room. Moving in closer, he saw the mangled body of Bellatrix Lestrange in the middle of the crater.

"Call in the forensics team," he commanded. "I see four dead Death Eaters and no signs of the Longbottoms. I want to know what happened."

Wood nodded, rushing to the fireplace to call in the scene as Moody began examining the room in greater detail. Starting with the center of the room, which appeared to be where the most damage occurred, he looked at Bellatrix's body. She was badly mangled, having appeared to have caught the wrong end of a bombarda curse. Moody only hoped it had been Frank on the other end of it. But what worried him more was the large pool of blood near Bellatrix's body. Clearly someone had lost a significant amount of blood, but there was no body in the room it could have belonged to.

"Erikson, head to St. Mungos and see if anyone has been admitted in the last half hour. They would likely be suffering from major blood loss and curse damage." He spotted the remains of fabric and leather in the debris. "Possibly a limb."

Erikson nodded, looking slightly green and apparated as the forensics team arrived. Stepping back, Moody let the team in to do their work.

 **2 Nov 2001**

The next morning, Moody arrived at work, even more depressed. There had been no sign of the Longbottoms, at St. Mungos or otherwise. Heading down to his office, Moody could only take solace in the fact that there were no bodies as of yet either.

"Forensics report, sir," an Auror greeted him, handing over a thick stack of parchment. Moody nodded, and headed to his desk.

Once he was seated, he opened the file and begun reading. Much of it covered what he had observed. The wards were breached, although he noted they were bypassed rather than dismantled, and a prolonged fight had occurred in the living room. What surprised him, however, was that while there had been six wizards fighting, Alice had not been one of them. Instead, the forensics team picked up the wand signature of the Lestranges, Crouch Jr. (and that was certain to cause problems), Frank, and Sirius Black. The pool of blood in the center of the room was largely Franks, and there were also significant amounts of bone and muscle fragments, indicating he was severely injured. A small amount of blood belonged to Black, but not enough to suggest he was majorly injured. Lastly, the team had discovered traces of portkey magic originating from the pool of blood. Either Black of Longbottom had portkeyed the pair out of there. And, given the likely state of both and betrayal by Black, it appeared he was the one who had done so.

"Dammit," Moody swore under his breath. "Looks like Black has Frank and Harry, possibly Alice and Neville as well. What the hell happened?" he wondered. For, only forty-eight hours ago, he had believed Black to be a loyal Auror.

 **8 Nov 2001**

By the 8th, one week after the attack, most of the Auror department had lost hope for the Longbottoms, assuming they were dead. There had been no sign of them, no word of their survival, and Black- now dubbed Voldemort's right hand man- was nowhere in sight.

Moody was about to head out to lunch when Amelia stuck her head out of her office. "Moody!" she yelled frantically, "Get in here right now. I've got something you're going to want to see!" Quickly, he stood, making his way towards her office. Stopping just outside the office, he gasped. For his eye could see through the wall, and inside, sitting in a chair, was Frank Longbottom.

"It's not a trick. He is alive. Was hiding out at Andromeda Tonk's with Alice and Neville for the past week. We were right, he was hurt bad. Lost a leg, there might have been other damage that was healed as well.

Moody nodded and opened the door. Slightly annoyed at Frank for not informing him that he lived, he shot a stinging hex and yelled "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

"Good to see you too," Frank responded, holstering his wand after raising a protego.

"Glad ta see you alive," gruffed Moody, "even if you left part of yourself behind."

"Your one to talk," retorted Frank, motioning towards Mad-Eye's own fake leg and eye.

Moody laughed in response. "Saw the house after you left. Nice job. Four dead Death Eaters. Including the Lestranges."

"About the attack, they came through the wards far faster than they should have. They knew where the ward stone was. Any ideas who could have told them?" Frank asked, clearly disturbed by the event.

Moody frowned. "No idea. That was the weird thing. Forensics says the wards were bypassed, not dismantled. But you would know more about your own wards than I would."

Frank paled. "I don't know exactly. I have theories. I'll let you know if one turns out to be true," he responded.

Moody nodded again. He probably was mulling over the idea that it was Black who located the ward stones. "Well, it is good to see you, Frank. The entire department will be glad to hear you are alive. When will you be in to work?"

"Probably starting on Monday. Although I'll be stuck doing desk work for a while."

Moody grunted. "We all are. So much damn paperwork now that the war is over." Swiveling his magical eye to the back of his head, he saw Crouch and Bagnold approaching with a reporter. "The big guns are on their way in. That means I'm off. Say hi to Alice for me."

Back at his desk, Moody began thinking through what he saw. Things weren't adding up. For starters, forensics reported only one portkey signature and no apparition trails from the Manor. That meant Black either portkeyed out with Frank, or managed to run and clear the property as his team entered the house. And Frank said nothing about Black. Add that to the fact that forensics found a spare set of clothes and a motorbike, which he knew belonged to Black, at the house, meant nothing meant sense. Sighing, he turned to other paperwork. The mystery would have to wait.

 **20 Dec 2001**

Moody was confused. Frank Longbottom had been back at work for over a month, yet he had gotten nothing done. Sure, the man had been stuck on desk duty (he finally had two legs again) but he did nothing. He had been placed on the Black case, tasked with sorting through all of the leads regarding Black's possible location. Longbottom had requested the assignment, and Crouch readily agreed. After all, who would be more motivated to find Black than Frank? Black had attacked him, killed two of his friends, and kidnapped Alice's godson. But something was off. While Frank appeared to be working- he filled out paperwork, forwarded promising leads to the field agents, and talked about catching the man- he lacked his usual gusto. In Moody's opinion, he didn't want to catch Black. Which made absolutely zero sense. Unless… Unless everything the Auror department knew about the case was wrong. Moody shook his head. No, Frank was probably just anxious to get back into the field. Hell, he knew well enough that riding a desk was no fun.

Standing, he stuck his head out the door. "Longbottom!" he called out into the bullpen. "Got a moment?"

Frank nodded, and grabbed his cane. Slowly, he stood and limped his way into the office. "What's up?"

"Wanted to know how you are doing," he replied, gesturing to the leg. "I know what's it like. Have a seat."

Frank sat down, leaning back into the chair as Moody sat down across from him. "It's better. I can actually manage stairs now and carry Neville. I think Alice is most excited about that."

Moody nodded. "That's good. Especially since its only been about a month and a half. How long until you'll be ready to hit the field again?"

Frank shrugged. "Not sure. Hopefully by the end of next month. I've been working with a squib doctor, thanks to Ted. He has been helping me a lot."

"I'm glad. I'd hate to lose you. Your one of my best. You been dueling?"

"With Alice some. Still need to work on my balance. Right now I try to dodge and end up on my arse half the time."

Moody laughed roughly. "Aye, I remember that. Still, its better to make a fool of yourself on front of your wife than in front of a dark wizard. But make sure you find someone else to duel too. Don't get lulled into a false sense of security by only ever fighting one style."

"Will do sir. Anything else? Alice wanted me home early tonight. I'm taking the rest of the week off for the holidays. Crouch says he doesn't need me at the desk."

"Nothing else. Have a good holiday."

"You too, Alastor."

After Frank had left the room, Moody pulled a form out of his drawer. **_Early Return to Fieldwork_**. If Frank kept improving at the rate he'd been going, he could be back in the field by the end of the month. That should get him back to his old self.

 **13 Jan 2002**

Moody watched as Frank stared at the paperwork again. He knew it was a high priority sighting, meaning it was considered highly likely Black was actually there. But, like every other day over the last two months, Frank carefully working in a way to make himself appear busy and productive while actually doing nothing. He wasn't sure if anyone else noticed, but he had trained Frank and worked with him closely over the years. Frank had always been fairly skilled at this sort of trick, but it was with Potter and Black that he had perfected it. Those two had been the masters of appearing to look busy when doing nothing. Deciding to take a closer look, Moody approached the desk.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He yelled, causing Frank to spill some ink on the form. Served him right for not paying attention to his surroundings.

"Dammit Moody, now I've got to start over again."

Moody looked over Frank's shoulder. "Start over? You barely started. What have you been up to all day? I don't pay you to just sit here." The paperwork confirmed it. Frank was purposely achieving nothing.

"Like you are any better at doing paperwork. Put me back out in the field. Please. I'm dying of boredom here!"

Moody snorted. This was something he could do. As a matter of fact, he had filled out the paperwork weeks ago. "Guess you're in luck then. You have your field recertification next week. I pushed them do let you do it earlier than they wanted to, so don't fuck it up or I'll bloody well kill you."

"Yes sir. I'll pass the recertification. And stop doing bloody paperwork," Frank muttered. With another snort Moody walked off. Frank was purposely trying not to catch Black. The facts of the case weren't adding up. Moody had some investigating to do.

 **12 Feb 2002**

After a month of meticulous investigation, Moody had discovered several things. First, Black had been at Longbottom Mano prior to the attack. He had stayed there, probably overnight, and most likely had Harry at the time. Two, the Longbottoms knew the Potters had been under the Fidelius. Everyone knew James would have choosen Black as the secret keeper. Frank and Alcie certainly would have. Yet, they had let him in. So, somehow he had convinced them he was innocent. Third, Frank was attacked by four Death Eaters. Alice had run, carrying Neville with her. Alone, Frank would have never stood a chance against the Lestranges, Crouch Jr. and Black. But, with Black, he might have. Black was a formidable duelist. As a matter of fact, he had usually defeated Frank when they trained against each other. The only scenario where the attack made sense was if Black was fighting with Frank, not against him. Fourth, Frank had been missing for a week after the attack. At first he had thought maybe he had been hurt more than the leg, maybe he had taken a day or two to make a plan. But, if Black was one his side, things made more sense. They would have had to come up with a plan to hide Black and Harry. And if Black had been hurt… Now that he thought about it, it was likely Black had been hurt. And a week… possibly seriously.

Deciding it was time to confront Frank (as he seemed in a particularly good mood today), he made his way to the doorway. "Longbottom!" he shouted into the bullpen.

"Yes Auror Moody?" shouted Frank in response.

"Get your lazy ass in here!"

A minute later, Frank stuck his head in the office. "What do you need?"

"Come. Sit. Close the door," Moody muttered as he began casting privacy wards around the office. If he was going to have this conversation, and if things went as he expected, he wanted no one, not even Bones, to overhear them.

Frank gulped, indicating he knew the conversation was going to be serious. Smirking in response, he asked "Frightening you am I?"

"No," Frank responded, although Moody could tell he way lying. "I just know anything needing extra privacy wards is serious. I have something planned for four and would like to be out of here on time."

"Serious indeed. I'll be straight here. I know you know where Sirius Black is."

Frank paled.

He was right. Pausing for a moment, he thought about what he wanted to ask. If Frank knew and Sirius was innocent, then things could get blurry in the legal sense. After all, Albus Dumbledore, self proclaimed leader of the light had given testimony that Sirius was the Potter's secret keeper. Nobody would dare dispute his word. What he needed was answers. And plausible deniability. "Now, I don't want you telling me where he is, I just want to know a few things. Let me tell you what I know, and you can fill in the details." Frank nodded. "Right. So you are on the force tasked with capturing Black. Whose list of crimes includes participating in the attack that blasted your leg off. Yet you merely put around, appearing to do work without actually helping. Which means Black didn't attack you."

Frank nodded again.

"But, forensics definitely places him in Longbottom Manor during the attack. So if he didn't attack you, he helped you. Add to that the fact that you supposedly portkeyed away to Andromeda Tonks', a woman you were not known to be friends with, him helping- making the battle two against four- makes a lot more sense."

"You don't think I could have survived all five?"

"Humph. Against the Lestranges? No. None of us could. And certainly not them plus Sirius. He was a damn good Auror."

"He killed Rodulphus before I arrived. Held them off so Alice could run."

"With Harry too?"

"Yes. He also took down Bellatrix. I'm not sure which of us took down Crouch or Ratabastan."

"Did he survive the attack?"

Frank nodded.

"How bad?"

"What do you mean?"

"How bad was he hurt? You were at the Tonks' for a week. Having lost a leg before," he grinned manically, "I know you would have been up and about after three days at the most. Since you let the world think you, Alice and Neville were dead for a week, I assume it is because Sirius was still there. Injured." This certainly made the most sense, given Frank's response to his other questions. He seemed… guilty regarding the attack. Was it possible he hadn't been home at first? That Black held them off until he returned? That would certainly explain why Frank would risk so much to help him. Not to mention, if he was hurt, he would be less likely to appear publically and proclaim his innocence. Which he hadn't.

"It was, is bad. Bellatrix caught him with a dark curse. He won't recover completely."

Moody nodded solemnly. Bellatrix, in his opinion, was worse than Voldemort in a duel. Sure, Voldemort had plenty of power, but Bellatrix had an unpredictable, and extraordinarily deadly arsenal. And he had enjoyed torturing. "Damn. He was good. Can he fight?"

"Why?"

He sighed. Did Frank really not see why he was asking? "You and me might know he isn't dark, but the idiots in charge still do. They will continue to hunt them. He has the boy-who-lived. Can he protect himself and Harry?"

Frank thought for a moment. "I would say no, but knowing Sirius he will find a way. It won't stop him."

"Good. Who really betrayed the Potters?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

Moody's eyebrows rose. That certainly was not something he was expecting. Had the Potters switched after Dumbledore cast the charm? From what he knew of Lily, she would have been capable.

"And Dumbledore knows."

Moody's fist slammed the table in rage as a string of profanity exited his mouth. "Bloody hell! Man proclaims himself leader of the light! Why?"

"He wants to control Harry."

"Why? Wait, don't tell me. Whatever it is I'm sure you don't want everyone knowing." He was dangerously close to losing plausible deniability as it was.

Frank nodded yet again.

"So you, your wife, and the Tonks know. Who else?"

"Aletha."

"That why she left Britain? Nice one. Told people she couldn't live with the weight of his betrayal on her. Wanted a fresh start." If Sirius's girlfriend was with him, he had half a chance. She was a good influence on him, making sure he thought before he acted. She had helped him grow up over the last year, like Lily and James. "Any other allies?"

"Amelia Bones suspects there is more to the Sirius case than meets the eye. But she is trapped."

"Damn Crouch and Bagnold. Too bad you didn't leave Jr alive. Could have draw that out and disgraced him enough to step down. Oh well, one less scumbag to deal with." It really would have been… nice to throw Crouch out of the DMLE. He was a slimy bastard for sure. "Anyway, guess you should keep doing what you are doing. If you know where Sirius is, or are in communication with him, don't tell me. If I don't know, I can't tell anyone. Just… let him know I know the truth."

Frank relaxed considerably. "Getting soft in your old age?"

"Damn you Longbottom! Out! Go to whatever's got you excited. I'll cover if anyone questions!" Mad-Eye snarled as he wacked Frank with his cane. Frank brandished his own cane menacingly and smirked. "Same reason I still carry mine," Mad-Eye admitted with a grin. While he didn't know everything he wanted to, he felt a lot better knowing for sure that Sirius was innocent. It was nice to have one of his kids back.

 **23 May 2002**

"Frank! Alice wants to talk to you! Come to the floo!" Moody shouted. He was honestly surprised to see Alice's face in the floo, and even more so when she had asked if she could talk to Frank. Usually she just apparated over or sent an owl. But, he was curious, so he let them chat.

Listening to the conversation (it was in his office, and therefore not eavesdropping), he could tell Frank was hiding something. The conversation just didn't feel quite natural.

"Muggle hospital, eh? Dora's cousin?"

"Ted is muggleborn," Frank responded.

Moody looked him in the eyes, both normal and magical. Frank squirmed. Oh, he was lying alright. He stood there for a moment. Why would Frank hide who's kid was being born? Suddenly, it hit him. Sirius. He shook his head. Nine months ago Sirius certainly hadn't been married, yet alone engaged. Maybe he married the girl, he thought. "Right, now back to work. You still have another three hours till four. And it's not like the kid is likely to be born before then." Watching Frank leave, looking both relieved and excited, Moody knew he was right. So Sirius had a kid. Hopefully Aletha provided a good influence on the kid. And Harry for that matter.

 **31 July 2002**

Moody was busy coordinating a second team to head out to Diagon alley, where a drunken brawl had turned into practically all out warfare when a furious Amelia Bones stormed out of her office.

"I need backup!" she shouted. "It makes no sense! Frank, of all people," she began muttering, "Why would he hide Harry," she said, even quieter.

Luckily, Moody heard his boss's mutterings and quickly crossed the room. "Shacklebolt, cover the situation in Diagon Alley!" he shouted as he dragged Amelia back into her office. "What is going on?" he asked, fearing the worst.

"Tried to call in Frank. Saw Harry, Harry Potter standing in front of the floo. Looks just like James…" she trailed off.

Moody sighed. "Dammit Frank," he thought, "letting Harry get seen was careless. What was he even doing in the house." Grabbing the floo powder, he looked Amelia in the eye. "Right. You and I are going to head over to Frank's. Keep your wand in its holster no matter who is there. Even Black. Let's here what's going on before we act rashly and get ourselves hurt."

Amelia nodded, and grabbed a handful of floo powder as well. Throwing it in, the two stepped into the fireplace.

"Good evening Auror Bones, Auror Moody," intoned Andromeda. "Or is it Amelia and Alastor?" she asked, tone full of confidence and power.

Moody looked around the room, taking in who was there. Andromeda, Ted, and their daughter were hardly surprising, as she had provided Sirius and Frank with medical attention right after the attack. Lupin, while not entirely expected, made sense as Sirius's closest living friend. Next was Aletha and Harry. He really did look like his father. And then, then there was Sirius.

"If you follow me into the library, I am sure we can sort some things out. If you don't mind, the children will stay out here with Alice and Remus. They don't need to be present for this conversation," Frank added, bringing Moody's attention back to the conversation.

"Agreed," acquiesced Amelia.

Frank led the group with Amelia, Andromeda, and Ted close behind. Moody hung back, waiting as Sirius handed off Harry and Lyra to Remus. He watched Sirius carefully, examining him in detail. He looked nervous and stressed out, but Moody could hardly blame the man. After all, he was a wanted man and Amelia him should be arresting him on sight. He was sitting in a muggle wheelchair, and as he handed off the children, Moody could tell he was used to it. His upper body looked healthy, but his legs remained completely still. On closer evaluation, he realized they were severely atrophied. He felt a ping of sadness as he truly internalized what Frank had said all those months ago. "Bellatrix caught him with a dark curse. He won't recover completely." No, Sirius would never be an Auror again.

"Bellatrix?" He questioned, motioning towards the chair. Despite the circumstances, Moody was glad to see Sirius again. And, given the look he had on his face as he handed over his daughter and Harry, he was relatively happy.


End file.
